Enjoy a tour of Marrakech, the former imperial city in Western Morocco
After breakfast, enjoy a full-day tour of Marrakech, the former imperial city in Western Morocco. The Majorelle Garden is one of the most delightful spots in Marrakech: a small, meticulously planned botanical garden created in the 1920s by the French painter Jacques Majorelle. Now superbly mature, it is owned and splendidly maintained by Yves Saint Laurent Foundation. In the Artist’s former studio, a museum of Islamic arts exhibits Saint Laurent's fine personal collection of North African carpets, pottery, and furniture.
Visit first The Koutoubia Mosque, one of the best examples of Hispano-Moresque art, which combines apparent simplicity with superb craftsmanship and restrained luxury. Its minaret rises 252 feet into the sky and is certainly one of the most impressive sights in Marrakech. Then, El Bahia Palace is standing in a 2-acre garden, which is a haphazard arrangement of secret luxury apartments opening onto inner courtyards.
In the afternoon, explore the famous Marrakech souk that is the name given to an Arab market. The souks are a riot of color, noise, and activity, a wealthy storehouse of all the treasures of this vast and varied country. You will find all the silver merchants in one corner, all the gold merchants in another, and rows of stalls selling exclusively leatherwork or copper goods or jewelry. The real fascination is to watch the craftsmen at work, gilding on leather, or inlaying with enamel the sheaths of ornate silver daggers, hammering out copper, embroidering silks, or smoothing out the surface of cedarwood table.
You continue to discover the Djemaa El Fna square, the name translated as the Mosque or Assembly of death. It is taken to refer to the custom of displaying the heads of vanquished rebels or criminals since the square is known to be a place of public execution even up to the last century. Then it has been a center for public meetings and even riots. Today it provides constant ever-changing entertainment, which reaches its climax at sunset continues late at night. It is a square where a real image and the charm of Moroccan folklore are operating: storytellers, snake charmers, acrobats, folkloric bands. You end the visit by having a drink in a local coffee overlooking Djemaa El Fna square.
Your dinner is in a Moroccan family house tonight. This is not the only dinner but a complete immersion into Moroccan culture and family life. A perfect chance to interact with locals and experience a truly unique evening hosted by a Moroccan family.
Back to your hotel and overnight accommodation.
What's included?
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Breakfast
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Dinner
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Accommodation
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Tour